NFL Black Monday: Coaching Changes That Are Bound To Happen

Every year, the end of the NFL regular season approaches and management evaluates head coaches’ winning abilities on their respected teams. This year, there are a number of coaches who are on the hot seat. Some seats are luke warm while others are on fire. Black Monday will not be very kind to a number of coaches in 2010.

There are a few coaches who didn’t even get a chance to finish the season at all. The Dallas Cowboys were a Super Bowl favorite in August, but the team faltered and seemed to give up on Wade Phillips. When Jason Garrett became the interim head coach for the remainder of the season, the team bounced back a bit from the demise that occurred midseason.

Josh McDaniels was booted by the Broncos for many reasons. The first year he was there, he traded Jay Cutler to the Bears. Then he traded three draft picks for the overrated Tim Tebow and traded Brandon Marshall, a top ten wide receiver. To top those egregious moves off, the league had to investigate the Broncos taping live walkthroughs of opposing teams.

The Minnesota Vikings have been on a rollercoaster ride from the season’s onset. With Brett Favre playing like his age and the team losing the respect of their head coach, it was only a matter of time before Brad Childress’s number was called. His post game news conferences were awkward and sometimes he took shots at players, which is a no-no if you want the players to buy in.

Mike Singletary saw his first coaching job come to an end Sunday night after the 49ers lost to the St. Louis Rams. His old school philosophy of coaching just wasn’t working in San Francisco. Honestly, in the modern age of the NFL, coaches can’t just chide players to get them to produce. One thing that Singletary can take away is knowing that he made Patrick Willis one of the best middle linebackers in the NFL.

In Cincinnati, the season that could have been wasn’t for Marvin Lewis. The Bengals have had the talent on both sides of the ball for multiple years, but just can’t seem to get everybody on the same page. Getting Terrell Owens in the offseason was supposed to make Carson Palmer’s job easier, but he looked frustrated until T.O. was on the sideline for Sunday’s win against the talented Chargers. Also, having the Steelers and Ravens in your division gives the team little room for error. Somebody needs to get the Bengal’s players to unite and Lewis doesn’t seem to be the guy.

The Houston Texans' season was a bust. With the Colts not being as dominant this year, the Texans should of capitalized on the opportunity. With an explosive offense led by Matt Schaub and Andre Johnson, this team was projected to get a wild card spot. The Texans have led or been tied in the fourth quarter in seven of their past eight games and lost all but one. The crutch of the team is the defense. The pass defense is ranked dead last and the defense is ranked 29th overall. At the final regular season game Sunday, fans are planning a "fire Gary Kubiak" rally at the stadium. Fans will see if they have any effect on the situation Black Monday.

John Fox has been coaching the Carolina Panthers since 2002. He led the Panthers to the Super Bowl in the 2003 season and has been a defensive-minded coach. In 2008, he led the team to a 12-4 record and lost in the playoffs. With the loss of Julius Peppers, a lack of an elite quarterback, and the Saints and Falcons improving every year since the Panther’s Super Bowl run, it was inevitable that Carolina would be on a downslide. With the loss of DeAngelo Williams and the quarterback carousel this year, what coach would have been successful in Fox’s situation?

There are some big names out there that are looking to "maybe" take head coaching positions in 2011. John Gruden, Bill Cowher, Brian Billick and Jim Harbaugh are just a few. If Jeff Fisher loses his job in Tennessee, look for teams to scoop him up immediately. This is a “what have you done for me lately” league and sometimes a change is what is needed for a team to turn around.